For future traffic, Hwy. 74 Alliance is a good idea

By BEN NELMS

Southwest Fulton, Fayette and Coweta counties, Senoia, Fairburn, Peachtree City, Union City, Tyrone and the entire region of southwest metro Atlanta have a problem. And a solution.

The foundation of that solution involves far-flung stakeholders willing to participate in a novel idea designed to deal with the guaranteed gridlock destined to worsen exponentially in coming years.

The problem is the ever-increasing amount of traffic along Ga. Highway 74 and, for that matter, the entire area. The Hwy. 74 Corridor has, is and will continue to be a major traffic route for this region of metro Atlanta.

Keep in mind that Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) forecasts an additional 488,747 residents and 232,566 new jobs by 2030 for southwest Fulton, Fayette, Coweta and portions of Douglas and Clayton counties.

And skirting west Fayette, east Coweta and running north through the heart of Southwest Fulton is the Hwy. 74 Corridor. Traffic at the Hwy. 74/I-85 interchange is already off the chain and destined to get progressively worse until only an act of God or the concerted effort of a group of stakeholders committed to working together for the benefit of all, creates a solution.

Consider the following. The current traffic flow at the Hwy. 74/I-85 area already includes more than 40,000 vehicles per day. Now consider this.

The first of four new hotels on Hwy. 74 just east of I-85 is about to open, a continuing list of new retail businesses are slated from I-85 south past Milam Road to the Fayette County line and endless new residential offerings continue to be constructed in Fairburn, unincorporated Fayette and Fulton, not the least of which are the 1,000 townhomes currently under construction at Renaissance at South Park, located along Oakley Industrial Boulevard between Hwy. 74 and Hwy. 92.

And if that’s not enough just consider, in keeping with the ARC forecast for the area, that Hwy. 74 will likely become of a vehicular epicenter in the area along I-85 South.

It doesn’t take a psychic to read the cards stacked in this deck. But it does take a collaborative effort of cities, counties and development districts willing to commit to accomplish something so large, with so many players, covering so much territory, that it would usually not even be attempted.

Georgia DOT and assistance by legislators is needed to cement a plan of action that will help us avoid the perpetual gridlock that has become northeast metro. DOT has already identified itself as proactively supportive of the concepts. Most identified stakeholders have already adopted resolutions supporting the alliance and the remainder are expected to do so soon.

A continuing local commitment by the stakeholders mentioned above will be the glue that binds their efforts with those of DOT and the General Assembly. The reason is pretty simple.

The Hwy. 74 Alliance is a first-of-its-kind of effort for this area, one designed to have a regional impact based on regional participation by a large number of governmental entities.

Once pursued to fruition, the outcome will benefit both residents and businesses for decades to come. This is why the Hwy. 74 Alliance is a great idea. Your newspaper has and will continue to report on its activities.

Human nature and territoriality being what they are, we can hope that current and future stakeholders will keep their eyes on the future so that we may all benefit from what can become a viable solution to the inevitable, daily gridlock that is only destined to worsen with time.

To play off of the words of Franklin a couple of hundred years ago, we will either stick together or we will be stuck separately, bumper to bumper.

No matter how we slice it, the Hwy. 74 Alliance is a good idea. [Reach South Fulton Editor Ben Nelms at bnelms@TheCitizen.com.]